Ben Sulayem pushes to scrap FIA term limits

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is set to ask the General Assembly on June 26 in Macau to remove the current three-term, 12-year limit on the presidency, in a change that would allow him to stay in office beyond the existing cap and is widely expected to pass.

Under the FIA constitution, the president serves a four-year term and can currently stand for re-election twice, for a maximum of 12 years in the role. Ben Sulayem's proposal would abolish that restriction and leave re-election open until the existing age limit, which bars a candidate older than 69 at the time of election from serving a full term.

The move matters because Ben Sulayem, 64, only returned for a second term in 2025 after an election in which no formal challenger made the ballot. Reports said he retained strong backing across FIA member clubs, particularly among smaller federations, and that same support now gives the amendment a strong chance of being approved.

The package goes beyond term limits. It would also require presidential candidates to show "sufficient experience" in FIA member organisations or FIA bodies, and it would move the deadline for submitting a list of vice-president candidates from 49 days before an election to 100 days.

That lands in a system already under scrutiny after the last election cycle. In 2025, former F1 steward Tim Mayer and others signalled an intention to stand, but election rules requiring candidates to assemble vice-presidential nominees from all six FIA regions left rivals unable to complete a slate after the only available South American candidate was already aligned with Ben Sulayem's team.

Mayer told BBC that "term limits are not just a bureaucratic detail" and said they are "a highly important governance safeguard designed to prevent concentration of power, encourage leadership renewal, and maintain accountability to those the organization is meant to serve."

The proposal is likely to sharpen the wider argument over FIA governance and transparency. Ben Sulayem's presidency has already been marked by internal disputes, the departure of senior figures, clashes with Formula 1 over jewellery and swearing rules, criticism of harsh punishments for profanity, and questions over the independence of the FIA's audit and ethics structures.

An FIA spokesperson said a proposal had been put forward to create a consistent approach to tenure across all FIA bodies and that it still requires approval from the World Councils and the General Assembly. If members back it in Macau, Ben Sulayem would not just remove the rule that eventually forces him out, but do so as the barrier to future challengers becomes higher.